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1/435

It’s a process that’ll end fair and square. Nothing to see here, move along. D and R hopefuls (read underdogs) and golden children (read moneyed) continue to circle in hopes of a delegate ‘vote’ in the coming months to become THEIR party’s candidate and hopefully join that esteemed club in WDC. There are no surprising revelations in this post, just watching the grass grow like everyone else and wondering what will take root.

Each party has assured its supporters that their candidate will be chosen by a majority vote of their respective delegates. If you truly believe that, there may be stock investment options in a wall down south.

As you know, on the ‘D’ side there are four names that are now common in the mix: Curtis, McCarthy, Quist, Schreiner. That’s not to say there aren’t others or there won’t be others, it just seems safe to say that looks like the pack, so to speak. In fact, there’s talk of Zeno Baucus. He carries the name, the readymade war chest and daddy’s baggage. A proverbial kiss of death.

From the ‘R’s we have: Buttrey, Gianforte, Rosendale (maybe), Sales, Zolnikov. Again, nothing new here. Rosendale has proven his electability in a statewide race and Montana voters don’t seem to mind that an original idea and a cold glass of water would put the rifleman in a coma. Meanwhile, Gainforte has already demonstrated what a lot of money can do for a campaign, while his strongest opponent, Buttrey, carries the odious stigma of sponsoring a bi-partisan Medicaid expansion bill in 2015.

If you believe everything you read and watch on the screen it looks like a Quist/Gianforte decision.

Quist was quietly roaming the halls of the Montana State Capitol last week, cowboy boots, jeans, western shirt, hands in his pockets and signature hat. He looked more like a wandering visitor than a confident candidate. Meanwhile, the other three are hard at work and involved in the legislative process. The trio are on the move, smiling and invested in the here and now. They would bring a sense of energy and change to the D party. We just can’t have that. They are also missing the blessing of former Governor Schweitzer. But keep in mind that Schweitzer’s last prized pony was Larry Jent.

The same could be said for the other side. Gainforte has managed to splash onto the news by catching Mike Dennison’s attention. While Rosendale and Zolnikov haven’t been as present in their enthusiasm, Buttrey and Sales are, shall we say, politely expressing their frustrations with the backroom dealing by their party as well. To be fair, Sales and Buttrey too are knee deep in Montana’s legislative process and don’t have the luxury to roam the state for ‘votes’. Sales and Buttrey. Pachyderm vs rino. We, or rather Jeff Essman, can’t have that either. Especially with his attachment to Gianforte.

Again, nothing new here, nothing exciting. That can be said for the entire affair. Zinke made his move and left a man on board in more ways than one. The Commander abandoned the ship as Montana’s lone representative in Congress with one parting middle finger by voting to allow for an easier sale of public lands.

A Gianforte/Quist election could be interesting to watch. Then again it’s already lacking energy and orginality. A quick look at Gianforte and Quist’s websites will tell you that. The ‘formontana’ is , yawn, catchy, yawn, after all, who’s not ‘formontana’?

For the rest of you in the race, take heart. It’s 1 seat in 435. A body that spent it’s time voting to repeal a health care law over and over and over and over and over. To use the overused analogy, cockroaches are more popular than Congress. The only mistake you made was not seeking the blessing and anointment of the party elite rather than the party delegates who think they will make this decision.